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You, as the church, are part of a dynamic family that exists for divine purposes. Over the past few years, Grace Church of Mentor has had a theme to focus on each year. Here’s a review of past yearly themes: 2006 – Every Member Motivated 2007 – Pleasing God, Not Man 2008 – Because God is Faithful 2009 – Our Certain Truth in Uncertain Times 2010 – Our Blessed Hope while We Live by the Word 2011 – Servants of the Gospel 2012 – Living Made Simple by the Gospel This year’s theme will be “Standing, but Not Standing Still.”
Many Christians take right stands, but then become rigid. You cannot obey the Scriptures and be idle. As the first part of exploring this theme, we will be unpacking what Scripture says about the purpose of the church over the next few weeks.
Much thought, prayer, and study went into formulating our church’s mission statement to be in tune with God’s purposes for the church. It reads: “Grace Church of Mentor exists to glorify God by evangelizing the lost and equipping the saints with the goal of Christ-likeness.”
Many churches in today’s American culture have purposes other than what the Bible sets forth. The primary mission of God’s church is not social, political, or corporate. Our message is not “positive thinking,” “feel-good,” or one that can be coupled with worldly living. The Bible says nothing of these approaches to church. The church loses its purpose and its message, the Gospel, if it defines itself. It must be defined by the God who instituted it. When the Bible defines the church, it retains its balanced and vibrant approach to her Scriptural calling and duty.
Here is a brief overview of the origin, nature, organization, and purposes that God has set out for the church.
Origin: The Greek word for “church,” ecclesia, refers to those called out for a specific purpose.
The New Testament uses several metaphors for the church:
The Body of Christ – see 1 Corinthians 12
Nature: The church is divine in nature because God has established it. Jesus prophesied its coming in Matthew 16
The church is identified as a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ made up of all born-again believers in this present age. See Ephesians 2:11-3:6
Organization: The church’s offices and qualifications are set out in 1 Timothy 3
Worship in song is to be reverent and holy, mirroring the character of God. See Colossians 3
Purposes: The church’s purpose is simply to win souls and make disciples.
Every person who knows Christ is to be equipped as a disciple, to help others mature, and to evangelize. See Ephesians 4
The scope of the church’s purpose is to the local area first, spreading to the uttermost parts of the earth through planting churches and networking with others who can reach different areas. See Acts 1:8
It is human thinking that makes the church most complex. Confine your thinking of the church to the simple outline in the Bible. Mere success does not indicate God’s blessing; if we obey the Bible and success comes, then we know that Jesus is building His church here.
*Much of the above content was used from DBTS Syllabus notes on Ecclesiology and from bible.org/seriespage/ecclesiology-church, by Greg Herrick
Application Points This may be a lot to absorb if you are new to church or have not been taught a proper understanding of its nature and function; but it is crucial information to know and live by as a Christian. Prayerfully consider the following:
What is your understanding of the church’s purpose? Where does this deviate from or agree with what the Bible says? How can you correct your understanding?
Study through the passages listed above that define the church according to God’s standards. Refer to chapter 7 of the Foundations discipleship book for more details on the origin, nature, and purpose of the church.
Pray that Grace Church of Mentor will hold fast to God’s divine purpose for the church. Pray for the leadership to have clear vision and for the whole church to live out our purpose. How can you be a part of this in the coming year?
Set aside 2 hours to read through the whole book of Acts in one sitting. It contains the history of the early church, and you will learn much about its origin and purposes as well as be encouraged by how God works through His church. Tools for Further Study Cross References are listed above.
A Hymn to Encourage: “The Church’s One Foundation”
The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is his new creation by water and the Word. From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride; With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.
Elect from ev’ry nation, yet one o’er all the earth, Her charter of salvation – one Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy Name she blesses, partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, with ev’ry grace endued.
‘Mid toil and tribulation and tumult of her war, She waits the consummation of peace for evermore; Till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union with the God the Three in One, And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we, Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee.
Quotes to Ponder:
“There is a great need today to understand the essential nature of the church from what Scripture teaches and not firstly from the role some claim she ought to play in society. We cannot continue to define the church existentially – that is, by the way she interacts with the world and the resultant changes she undergoes. We must begin with the Word of God in order to get a sense of the kind of entity that she is, and from there we can decide on the kind of tasks she ought to be engaged in.”
Charles Spurgeon: “I do not come to this pulpit hoping that perhaps someone will of his own free will have turned to Christ. My hope lies in another corner. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some, and of them say, ‘You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself.’ My hope arises from the freeness of His grace, and not from the freedom of mere human will.”